Social Security was no part of American life for more than a century after the nation was established. That’s because our American ancestors rejected the principle of coerced charity.

Social Security is not a retirement account into which people “put their money.” From the very beginning, this socialist program has been nothing more than than a government-mandated welfare program for seniors.

Adopted in the 1930s by the Franklin Roosevelt administration, Social Security forces people to care for others through the federal government’s tax-and-welfare system. Why shouldn’t people be free to honor their mother and father and help out seniors voluntarily? Isn’t that what genuine freedom is all about? With their system of mandated charity, Republicans and Democrats have denigrated and destroyed people’s natural, God-given rights of freedom and free will.

One of the worst consequences of socialism is the mindset of dependency and helplessness that it produces in welfare recipients, similar to what heroin does to a drug addict. Seniors would do fine without this socialist program. They just need to recapture the sense of self-reliance, self-esteem, and can-do that socialism suppresses.

Moreover, many wealthy seniors do not even need the money. They are using these socialist programs to fleece young people, many of whom are struggling to start out in life, get married, begin a family, and buy a home.

For those seniors in genuine need, the repeal of Social Security would mean that children, grandchildren, and fellow Americans would need to help them out, on a purely voluntary basis. Democrats and Republicans say that Americans can’t be trusted to do the right thing. They are wrong. If anyone can be trusted with the natural, God-given gifts of freedom and free will, it is the American people.